Texas Hunting Forum

Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas??

Posted By: .243 Man

Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/18/16 07:29 PM

Set up a new feeder in Madisonville recently. Game camera pics after one week include 2,000 pictures of nothing but small black birds all day long. Feeder is going off right before sunrise and they will be there all day until about 5pm. I set the morning feed time to 2 seconds and the evening time to 4 seconds hopefully to give deer a chance to eat it at night. I read about getting an owl, but I feel they will get used to it very quickly. They completely destroyed a protein block in one week I had under the feeder. Any other tips besides sit there with a 12 gauge and a cold beverage all day lol..... Thanks
Posted By: Double Naught Spy

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/18/16 08:31 PM

Set your feeding time after dark and not in the morning.
Posted By: .243 Man

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/19/16 12:34 AM

Eventually I ll have to face the problem then I can't shoot deer after dark when season comes
Posted By: BrianCook_RanchSales

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/19/16 01:07 AM

Right now it's so green they don't need corn, so maybe hold off 2 feeding times and just do one at dark. When they get used to the corn they will adjust to new feeding times. You'll at least save some corn and $$
Posted By: stxranchman

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/19/16 01:56 AM

I would feed at least 1 hour before daylight and around 10 pm at night for a while till the birds move north.
Deer are feeding after dark right now anyway with all this heat early in the spring. Nothing you can do to change that, so feed them in darkness. Then late summer move feeding times to daylight or low light times.
Posted By: Double Naught Spy

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/19/16 02:07 AM

Originally Posted By: .243 Man
Eventually I ll have to face the problem then I can't shoot deer after dark when season comes


LOL, deer season is a LOOOOONNNNGGGGG way away.
Posted By: gusick

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/19/16 02:19 AM

Rubber snakes and fake owls.
Posted By: .243 Man

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/19/16 06:05 PM

We just started hunting this property so I want to have feeders throwing as much as possible LOL
Posted By: PMK

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/21/16 04:36 PM

put an fake owl on top of your feeder
Posted By: flintknapper

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/21/16 10:37 PM

Originally Posted By: stxranchman
I would feed at least 1 hour before daylight and around 10 pm at night for a while till the birds move north.
Deer are feeding after dark right now anyway with all this heat early in the spring. Nothing you can do to change that, so feed them in darkness. Then late summer move feeding times to daylight or low light times.



^^^^^^ THIS!
Posted By: Schmule

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/22/16 02:13 AM

I manage commercial buildings and we had set up a game caller on a timer and had it go off which scared the birds away. This could be an option here as well. Find something to spook the birds and not the deer.
Posted By: krmitchell

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/22/16 05:34 PM

Cut a few cats loose around the feeder.
Posted By: Double Naught Spy

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/22/16 06:18 PM

Posted By: Regular Guy

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/28/16 03:17 AM

Shells are too expensive. Use a pellet gun wink
Posted By: BenBob

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/29/16 07:19 PM

Fake owl and move it to a different spot each time you are out there. Tractor Supply has them.
Posted By: .243 Man

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/30/16 05:36 PM

Good idea thanks
Posted By: redchevy

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 03/30/16 06:19 PM

No solution but I feel your pain.

We have healthy numbers of dove and quail year round. I have counted over 150 doves on the ground at our tank feeder before. I have sat several sits where I watched the feeder feed saw no deer or hogs and when I got down and walked past the feeder there was barely a kernel of corn on the ground from the birds.

On a positive not if there is no corn left at dusk, it may help prevent your deer from coming after dark to feed.
Posted By: Hunt n Fish

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 04/01/16 05:32 PM

Blackbirds = Birdshot + 5 gal bucket (to sit on) + cold beverage
Posted By: .243 Man

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 04/01/16 07:12 PM

cheers
Posted By: therancher

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 04/01/16 07:47 PM

The little blackbirds are most likely brown headed cowbirds. A properly placed canister of Tannerite would rock their world. And save countless songbirds, since the cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds nests. Of course, as with most methods that are successful with pests, it's illegal to do that if unintended species are harmed. So, if you do that, don't invite the fish cops.
Posted By: SnakeWrangler

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 04/01/16 08:07 PM

Originally Posted By: Hunt n Fish
Blackbirds = Birdshot + 5 gal bucket (to sit on) + cold beverage


This^^^^^^...or tannerite..... clap
Posted By: pkfergy

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 04/05/16 06:10 AM

Covered up in dove & quail. Deer stopped coming to the feeders on our places . I will try the owl thing
Posted By: Txduckman

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 04/05/16 06:22 AM

We won't see deer on camera until September now. We just feed turkey and hogs until then. The dove were so thick late December I finally had to change some feeders to throw right before dark. Never seen this many before. If it is like this next year in November I don't know what to do but run feede a few times a day extra.
Posted By: MathMan

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 04/28/16 02:20 AM

Originally Posted By: pkfergy
Covered up in dove & quail. Deer stopped coming to the feeders on our places . I will try the owl thing


Home Depot sells the owls also.
Posted By: Wacm

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 05/19/16 03:12 PM

I 2nd the feeding at night but I'd do it till they start using the feeder more regular. Then move the times whenever you want. Deer will come and birds won't matter
Posted By: lms

Re: Birds eating all the Corn Any Ideas?? - 06/03/16 01:13 AM

Shoot a few and hang them around the feeder
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